What are 7 common cleaning mistakes?

Most cleaning mistakes don't come from skipping work. They come from doing the work in a way that wastes effort, moves dirt around or creates a safety problem. The seven below come up again and again in homes and workplaces, and each has a simple fix backed by public health and safety agencies.

1. Mixing products, especially anything with bleach

This is the dangerous one. The New Jersey Department of Health warns that mixing bleach with ammonia creates chloramine gases, and mixing bleach with acidic products, such as lime, calcium and rust removers, releases chlorine gas. Its list of products never to combine with bleach also includes vinegar, rubbing alcohol, toilet bowl cleaners, oven cleaners and drain cleaners. Effects range from coughing and watery eyes to serious lung damage.

The fix: Use one product at a time, rinse between products, keep everything in its original labeled container and ventilate the room. The CDC says not to mix products or chemicals with each other and to ensure good ventilation when using them indoors. If someone is exposed, move to fresh air and call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

2. Disinfecting a surface you haven't cleaned

Spraying disinfectant over crumbs, grease or grime feels efficient, but dirt can keep the chemical from reaching germs. CDC's advice is to clean first, then sanitize or disinfect if needed. This matters most in kitchens and bathrooms, where grease, soap scum and food residue build up on the very surfaces people most want to disinfect.

The fix: Wipe away visible soil with soap or detergent, then apply the disinfectant to the clean surface.

3. Wiping disinfectant off too soon

Every disinfectant has a contact time: how long the product must stay on the surface to work. The EPA says the surface should stay visibly wet for the entire contact time, which may mean reapplying the product. Spraying and wiping within seconds usually falls short.

The fix: Read the directions for use on the label, leave the surface wet for the full time listed, and apply more if it starts to dry early.

4. Using the wrong type of product

The EPA separates three kinds of products. Cleaners remove dirt and organic matter. Sanitizers kill bacteria but aren't intended to kill viruses. Disinfectants kill viruses and bacteria. Using a disinfectant on every surface every day adds chemical exposure where cleaning alone would do. Reaching for a sanitizer when you need a disinfectant, such as after a stomach bug, means using a product that isn't designed for viruses.

The fix: Clean routinely, and disinfect when someone is sick or at higher risk of getting sick, as CDC recommends. When you need a disinfectant, check the EPA registration number on the label, which EPA calls the only way to accurately identify a product. EPA also keeps lists organized by pathogen, such as List G for norovirus, and a product on a list qualifies only against the pathogen named in its title. For everyday cleaners, EPA's Safer Choice label identifies products whose ingredients have been reviewed against EPA safety criteria and that perform comparably to conventional products.

5. Cleaning with dirty cloths and mop heads

A cloth that has already wiped the bathroom carries that soil to the next surface. So does a mop pushed through the whole house with one bucket of water.

The fix: Use separate cloths for kitchens, bathrooms and general dusting, switch to a fresh one often, change mop water when it looks dirty, and launder cloths and mop heads after each cleaning. CDC also cautions that drying sanitized items with a dish towel may transfer germs back onto them, so let them air-dry.

6. Skipping high-touch surfaces

Floors and counters get attention because they look dirty. Light switches, doorknobs, cabinet pulls, remote controls and faucet handles often don't, even though hands touch them all day. CDC recommends cleaning high-touch surfaces regularly and after you've had visitors. In most homes, the list also includes the refrigerator handle, microwave buttons, the toilet flush handle and stair railings.

The fix: Add a quick high-touch pass to every cleaning session. In offices and other shared spaces, CDC's facility guidance lists door handles, stair rails, elevator buttons, touchpads, restroom fixtures and desks.

7. Dry-dusting fine dust, soot or construction residue

Feather dusters, dry rags, brooms and compressed air lift fine particles into the air, where they resettle or get breathed in. That's a nuisance with household dust and a bigger problem with drywall dust, concrete dust or soot. OSHA's construction silica standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153, restricts dry sweeping and compressed-air cleaning where they could add to workers' exposure, favoring wet methods and HEPA-filtered vacuums instead.

The fix: Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter, which OSHA defines as at least 99.97% efficient at removing particles 0.3 micrometers in diameter, and damp microfiber cloths for fine dust. Soot is a special case that often needs specialized cleaning methods, so after a fire or a furnace puffback it's usually better left to professionals. Our guide to furnace puffback soot cleanup explains why.

Quick reference

When a professional clean makes sense

Some jobs are worth handing off: heavy build-up, renovation dust, odor problems, a home where someone has been seriously ill, or a business that needs disinfection done to label directions on a schedule. ServiceMaster Restoration Services offers routine house cleaning, deep cleaning services and sanitization and deodorization for homes and businesses across DuPage and Will County. Call (630) 241-1111, 24/7.